TONY Abbott says Kevin Rudd is more interested in "travelling the world" than sorting out Australia's border security issues as the Prime Minister continues put pressure on a public debate between the two to be held.

"He will talk. He'll talk endlessly. He'll be jetting around the world to this conference and that conference," Mr Abbott said.

"We'll see Kevin 747 in extreme action but none of it will actually stop the boats. It's activity, not change, that's what you get with Kevin Rudd."

Speaking at a pie shop in Sydney, Mr Abbott said the Prime Minister was not the right person to deal with people smugglers.

"The trouble with Mr Rudd is that he caused this problem. John Howard solved the problem, Kevin Rudd started the problem up. Kevin Rudd is the best friend of the people smugglers we've ever had," he said.

Mr Rudd this morning said Australia was "not Robinson Crusoe" on the issue of asylum-seekers and many other countries around the world dealt with the same influx of boat people.

"The bottom line is this when it comes to asylum-seekers - first of all it's a problem across the world we are not Robinson Crusoe," Mr Rudd told Darwin FM radio Mix 104.9.

"The right response is a regional response and that's why the Indonesian President has decided to pull together at his initiative a meeting of international ministers to work out practical actions for all of us now to take.

"Unfortunately with Mr Abbott he seems to be very taken with political slogans and catch phrases like 'stop the boats'."

Mr Abbott said Mr Rudd was too scared to call an election, despite Newspoll results today showing an almost half of Australians want it to happen either before or on September 14.

"The important item from the Newspoll results is the absolute clear demand from the Australian people that we have an election and we have it soon," Mr Abbott said of the poll, which also showed support for Mr Rudd had surged in the past week.

"We know you are frightened of the caucus, but don't be scared of the Australian people. Name the date, bring it on let's have the election."

But Mr Rudd said he would not be intimidated by Mr Abbott.

"Despite Mr Abbott jumping up and down, guess what he doesn't get to decide the election date. The constitution decides when elections are held," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Rudd said the Australian people deserved more of an explanation from Mr Abbott about his policies and again renewed his call for three pre-election debates with the Opposition Leader.

"Let's have three debates - the first on debt and deficit, the second on stop the boats and the third on carbon pricing," he said.

"Let's actually hear what you would do about each of these things Mr Abbott rather than just chanting a slogan like you are at a football game."